Advice on fixing up my 93 Celica

[jrstenson]

I have always owned Celicas. My current one is a 1993 GTS. It is in great condition, but I am sure things will start to wear out. I don't like the body style of the new ones. Can anyone give me a educated opinion on the idea of fixing up the 93? I am wondering whether it would be worth it, and whether you can purchase new engines for these cars.

[91celicaFB]

hello and welcome to the world of the notorious toyota celica. Oops, you said you've always owned celi's. Well anyways, If you know anything,,, you should look up the 3sgte. This will open up a whole new world of possible celica mods. This engine will bolt on directly to 5th gens and will work with 6th gens. They come from 4th. Anyways, This is a jdm engine that was available in the us but higher volumes sold in japan. I had no idea this engine was so popular untill i saw the name on a engine importers' business card.. it was right under the "f20 whatever." It is turbo. It has 200sumthin ponies. I found one with a 2wd auto trans. if your interested, lemie know it will go for 2,000 firm becuase of its rarity if you will.
good luck

[jrstenson]

Okay, you lost me. I probably should mention I am female. I am not savvy on motor talk. I can say I am only interested in motors that will work with a manual transmission, which mine is presently working fine. I have replaced the clutch recently, but that is it. I would really like to fix this car up because the body style is one of the better ones. It is sporty but classy, from when Toyota still put money into their interiors. Mine is mint.

[ghetto7o2azn]

ok... a 3sgte motor... only found in alltrac/gt4 celicas, 2nd gen mr2's etc.

this engine is a turbo motor thus the 3sg"T"e... it is 2.0L and can hold a good amount of hp (horse power) i dont know excatly how much u kno about cars so dont get affended...

what he was saying is that this engine will fit into your 1993 celica and will bring up your hp too 200bhp at least depending on where the engine is from...

even though it has been used since 1989 (i think??) it is a good motor which is still used today for racing, and has known to hold over 700bhp and yes, it works with a manual

[jrstenson]

no offense taken. that's why i registered. i want to educate myself so i make the right decisions on my celica. to keep it, i am looking at eventually replacing the motor, which probably means the transmission too. i have been trying to weigh the pros and cons of doing this. the interior as i mentioned is in mint condition. i have kept up on the maintenance which has resulted in replacement of various items including the front axle. Body is clean, but if kept i have someone who will professionally paint it (takes the windows out to do it) which is not going to be cheap.
I still have not had any opinions on whether this is worth it, when compared to the new ones. I do not like the body style, and the interior is way inferior to what they used to be.

[Cynistah Celica]

Yow I don't blame you! The first time I saw a Celica was in maybe 1995, it was a 3rd gen all trac turbo straight from Japan (because it was in the Caribbean) and I really didn't know anything about it other than the car was sexy as hell, so last year I bought a 1990 hatchback GT and I love the interior and everything about it, all I want to do is swap the auto. trans and deal with the engine for more power then take it back to the Caribbean to do the rest of the stuff i can't do here! SO THE CAR IS WORTH IT! I want no other car than it!

[jrstenson]

So, you think it is worth it. Mine is a hatchback too. The GTS. The interior is plush; back when Toyota put some money into the inside as well as the outside. Any idea the dollars I am looking at to replace the engine and manual transmission?

[Dober89]

Depending on how intensive of a swap you do, I would say you looking at 1000-1500 for labor alone. Add to that whatever you can find an engine and tranny for. You can often find the J-spec motors in ebay. They are the same as the american ones basically but they put out a little bit more power.

Turbo engines can sometimes be hard to get setup right in your car. When the turbo isnt making any boost, you basically have a normal engine that doesnt make alot of power. However when the turbo has kicked in the amount of power increases greatly.

Sometimes it can be difficult to get used to and also difficult to set the car up to handle the variation of power.

Turbo is definately the way to go when your dealing with a 4 cylinder engine though!! Before you put out any cash though make sure you find out if you need a different wiring harness for the new motor, and also if your current cooling system will handle the extra heat.

[jrstenson]

Again, not knowing much about the equipment end of this, let me ask this question. Is it possible to purchase a new engine? It sounds like most comments may be referring to used or rebuilts? Can you put a new engine in this car, provided you have the right gears/transmission, etc. to match with the engine?

[Dober89]

Yes you can put a new engine in the car. It might be hard to get a BRAND new one but a freshly rebuilt engine should be just fine also.

[YangS]

If we were to keep the 5sfe engine, what oould you guys buy for more power, please give some list of what to buy to give it more power.

[SpEkTiC]

First things first the basics Headers, exauhst,intake.....